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Allie

A question I keep getting asked is if I ever get tired of drinking wine. Well, the answer is no… and that’s because I don’t only drink wine!

Although I’m a wino at heart, I’m also a certified cocktail fanatic. This stems not only from the amazing craft cocktail culture I’m surrounded by here in NYC, but from the nearly 10 years I spent working behind the bar and trying to come up with my own concoctions. As easy as it may look, it’s actually hard. Really, really hard. Too much of one ingredient can make a drink too sweet and too much of another can make it too sour; shake a cocktail that’s meant to be stirred and you water it down too quickly or stir one that’s meant to be shaken and the ingredients don’t integrate properly; get too crazy with herbs, infusions, garnishes, etc. and you knock the drink’s balance out of whack. In some cases, just a drop too much of a single component can overpower the whole darn thing!

There’s a true art to mixology, and I have a deep appreciation for those who have mastered this skill. They are chefs in their own right, with natural instincts on how to meld flavors so that the final combination dances a delightful jig on your palate. There’s nothing better than a properly made cocktail, which for me is one that I finish and want to order again. Too often I find that what sounds yummy on a menu doesn’t always end up working in the glass. Or that drinks taste good at first but get boring or cloying halfway through. And I’ve definitely found that elaborate doesn’t automatically equal better, or that going to a fancy cocktail bar doesn’t always guarantee a good drink.

So I’m constantly on the hunt for people that know how to mix them right. And because I also entertain at home quite often, I’m always looking for recipes that I can whip up myself. So given my love of a good cocktail and my high standards for a properly made one, I thought I’d start sharing some of my tasty finds with you. Some of these recipes come from my friends whose homemade cocktail photos on Instagram make me drool, and others from bartenders who were kind enough to share their secret recipes; some come from testing recipes I’ve found online, and others from liquor/liqueur producers who dedicate loads of time and money to creating recipes that best showcase their products. They run the gamut in ingredients and flavors, but what they all have in common is that they illustrate the art behind cocktail creation and what it takes to mix a good drink.

In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine the Vodka, St. Germain, Violet liqueur and Ginger liqueur. Add the bitters and shake for 15-20 seconds. Pour into your favorite cocktail glass filled with ice and top with tonic. Gently stir the cocktail to incorporate the tonic. Express the oil from the lemon peel over the drink, run the peel around the glass rim and place it inside of the drink.

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SKY WITH NO CEILING – Courtesy of Jennifer Knott, head bartender at 312 Chicago

Ingredients:

1 oz H by Hine VSOP Cognac

1 oz Amaro Montenegro

1 oz Lemon juice

1 oz Simple syrup

1 oz 2011 Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port

1 Egg white

Directions:

In a cocktail shaker, dry shake all ingredients together except for the Port. Add ice and shake again vigorously without the Port. Strain into a cocktail glass and float the Port on top while swirling it around the top of the egg white.

Combine Cointreau, Tequila, grapefruit juice and lime juice in a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a coupe glass with a salt rim. Slowly and carefully pour Italian bitters over the back of a spoon to layer the cocktail.

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WRITER IN THE DARK – Courtesy of Remy Charest, home mixologist

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz Bourbon

1 oz Fernet

1 oz Campari

1 tsp Maple syrup

1 oz Sparkling wine

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the Bourbon, Fernet, Campari and maple syrup into a shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously until the drink is well chilled. Pour into an Old Fashioned Glass with one large ice cube. Top with sparkling wine (1 oz ought to do it, but you can add more to taste).

Shake all ingredients together and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a light sprinkling of the chocolate powder.

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Allie Albanese is a featured contributor to Parade’s CommunityTable.com, with a column focused on wine and making wine accessible to the everyday consumer. Her goal is to introduce her readers to different wine regions, styles and price points and to educate them in a way that takes the intimidation factor out of the equation.

Allie is a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers and was named the Walter Clore Certified Sommelier Exam Scholar for being the top scorer in the state of New York. Allie is also a graduate of the International Culinary Center’s Intensive Sommelier Program, where she finished at the top of her class, and the founder of Parched: NYC, a website launching in 2017 that is dedicated to all things cocktail, wine and beverage-related in NY and around the world. Allie is based in NYC and when not eating and drinking her way through Manhattan, she can be found traveling and photographing her adventures both at home and abroad.